Turner, Greene, Leeds schools win U.S. nutrition awards

TURNER — They were served 1 percent milk, soy nuts and pizza sticks made with whole wheat. Then Turner Primary School students made their way through a salad bar offering raw broccoli, canned peaches and jello.

“The food tastes good,” first-grader Cassidy Stone said Friday as she ate broccoli and a pizza stick.

Kori Hathorne, 6, said she eats broccoli and carrots some days. “They’re always there. They’re not my favorite food, but I sometimes eat them.”

Elementary students in Greene, Turner and Leeds are eating award-winning lunches.

On Friday, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official came to Turner to present four elementary schools with Silver Awards, one of the nation’s highest school nutrition awards, as part of the Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge.

Greene Central, Leeds Central, Turner Primary and Turner Elementary schools were the first schools in Maine to earn such an honor.

“You are receiving the first Healthier U.S. Schools Award for the state of Maine, and that is a huge accomplishment,” said Cindy Long, child nutrition director for the USDA, at an assembly at Leavitt Area High School.

The award did not include the middle and high schools, which have similar meals and programs. Officials said they are working on nutrition-award applications for those schools.

Long told elementary school students they were lucky. “Your school made a choice,” she said. “They decided it would be the right thing to do to provide healthy meals. They go way beyond what’s required.”

The four schools provide meals low in fat with plenty of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. “And they make the meal taste good,” Long said. “That’s a huge accomplishment. You should be really thankful for the folks who provide the meals.”

To win, schools must also teach students health lessons and provide opportunities for students to exercise through activities and physical education.

Helping youths adopt healthy habits is a high priority for President Barack Obama’s administration, Long said. First lady Michelle Obama has launched her own “Let’s Move” campaign to encourage more exercise to fight childhood obesity.

“We want to double the number of schools receiving this award,” Long said. “Since we started in 2004, it’s been tough for schools to achieve the award.”

Of the 100,000 schools nationwide, just under 900 have received nutrition awards, she said. “So you are part of a very elite group that’s achieved something really special.”

Each school will receive a large wall banner and $1,000. Superintendent Darlene Burden said the money will be used to buy more local food and to explore the possibility of establishing school gardens.

Thrilled with the awards, Burden ticked off some ways the district promotes health, including the Presidential Fitness Program, Jump Rope for Heart, after-school fitness clubs and organized activities during recess. Achieving the award took the help of many, including teachers, nurses, administrators, students and parents who eat and buy school meals, Burden said.

“Our food service director, Dave Roberts, has championed this effort and coordinated the application,” Burden said. She said he is constantly seeking to increase nutritional value in meals, finding ways to allow more students to have access to school meals. “He’s a go-getter,” she said.

Celebrations need music, Burden said, introducing the high school marching band, which performed “I’ve Got Rhythm.”

After the presentation, one of the banners proclaiming a “Healthier U.S. Silver School” was unfurled to applause.

bwashuk@sunjournal.com

: Jeffrey Quick, left, and Brielle Ouellette, third-graders at Turner Primary School, make their way through the veggie and fruit bar during lunch Friday. Elementary schools in Turner, Leeds and Greene received national recognition for excellence in nutrition Friday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The four schools are the first in Maine to win Silver Awards in the USDA’s Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge.